Lots of notes this month.
Recently my wife, Kathy Duffy, spent our entire radio program covering the topic of MRSA(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Many of you have heard of MRSA, and have heard you must wash your hands or use anti bacterial hand cleaners frequently. The problem arises when people over use the hand cleaners and the germs continue to become more resistant. Fortunately, several studies are showing Tea Tree oil( Melaleuca alternafolia) in strong (5%or more) concentrations are destroying MRSA colonies. Kathy explained how mixing several essential oils in combination was effective in controlling the MRSA. The oils discussed included Tea tree, True Lavender( Lavandula angustifolia), Oregano(Origanum vulgaris),Eucalyptus( Eucalyptus globulus), Ravensara (Ravensara aromatica), Palmarosa (Cymbopogon motia), and Bergamot (Citrus bergamia). Recipes were given and concentrations were discussed during the program. I am a bit reluctant to go into detail in the column, for fear people will go to the bath shops or perfume counter and buy cheap and mislabeled fragrances. The show is available on cassette or CD for a nominal fee. The show notes are available at HERBARIUM free of charge. Kathy stressed repeatedly you must use pure therapeutic grade oils and change the ratios frequently.
I read in the morning paper there is a shortage of Oxycodone and Oxycontin in Western Mass and indeed the whole country but the pharmaceutical companies say they wil have enough to go around by May. Why am I mentioning it? In the story it stated people are using Oxycontin and its generic form for bursitis, and arthritis and lower back pain. Wow! The article also stated abuse of this drug can lead to addiction. Folks, I know people who used this stuff for a few days and got hooked! Oxy is a great drug for severe pain, but for heavens sake try something safe and effective and non-addicting for arthritis bursitis and lower back pain. How about a chiropractor? Massage? How about Tumeric, California poppy, Jamaican Dogwood, Scullcap, Mineral tea(HERBARIUM blend) mineral supplements such as magnesium? It seems to me people are using a cannon to kill a fruit fly here.
Two more articles appeared recently. One reported fish oil did not offer much help for heart attack patients. Of course when the subjects are all using blood thinners, a cholesterol medication and aspirin, the addition of ONE fish oil capsule probably would not help. How could you tell? Wouldn’t having a control group using only the fish oil have been a better test? How about using a therapeutic dose? One tablespoon of fish oil is usually recommended, (for those of you in Rio Linda, that would be about nine capsules).
The other story was a column from Jane Brody of the New York Times. Ironically enough the story appeared on April Fools Day. She stated that vitamin E was bad for you. Unfortunately, Ms Brodie did not check her facts. There was no study, it was in fact a meta- analysiswhich is very different. I was interviewed by TV22 the day this story first appeared and read the American Heart Association press release. It was four paragraphs long, three of which talked about the safety and efficacy of Vitamin E for a variety of problems,at the normal dose of 400iu’s. The Heart Association said doses of 1200-2000 iu’s of vitamin E should not be taken without a doctors’ supervision. This was a non story and still is. This woman had the gall to pull up a story that was FIVE YEARS OLD and had been discredited by several publications and organizations since then. Why? Journalistic integrity indeed….
If you want real information and need to check facts try websites such as Medline plus, Pub Med, National Institute of Health or the National Library of Medicine just to name a few.
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